1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminated helmet; and more particularly, to a helmet omnidirectionally illuminated with electroluminescent characters, indicia and/or decorations suited for use during dusk or nighttime hours for enhanced safety.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Walking, bicycling, skateboarding, roller-skating, rollerblading, or driving a motorcycle or moped during dusk or nighttime hours can be hazardous on roadways and/or in neighborhoods where automobiles are encountered. Illuminating characteristics of the automobile headlamps, generally afford an illumination range of approximately 25 to 50 feet. This illumination range can be significantly reduced by mist or fog, or bends in the road. Despite improvements to vehicle headlights, bicyclers, and the like, are oftentimes not seen by automobile drivers until the distance between the automobile and the person is small and avoiding contact becomes too late.
Several approaches devised by prior art workers attempt to provide solutions for this hazardous common activity. These approaches include 1) helmets only having reflective properties; 2) helmets having illumination means attached to an small, single area on the helmet; and 3) helmets having illumination means integrated within the helmet that provide for small amounts of illumination. In any event, none of these solutions provide a safety helmet that is highly visible from all angles via omidirectional emission of light over a substantial surface of a helmet.
Many of the safety helmets heretofore disclosed and utilized merely provide reflective means, and do not provide illumination means. Such helmets generally involve reflectors adhered to the exterior surface of the helmet that reflect light back to the source to indicate the presence of the bicyclist or motorcyclist. They do not involve illumination means within the helmet and therefore do not themselves emit light. Accordingly, a detailed discussion thereof is not required.
Various types of helmets having illumination emitting capabilities have been provided wherein an illumination means attached to the outside of a helmet/or integrated therein, but only providing illumination in the rear/or front of the helmet. Generally these types of helmets involve a light that is clipped or otherwise attached to the back or front of a helmet. For examples: U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,675 to DeBeaux discloses an automatically operated via light sensor, moving illuminated display for a helmet disposed upon the rear of the exterior of the helmet, and attached thereto as by hook and loop fastener; U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,792 to Murasko discloses an illuminated safety helmet incorporating a light panel located on the rear and front of a helmet that is capable of producing electroluminescence, and reflecting incident light that is independent of the electroluminescence function; U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,493 to Theisen discloses a safety helmet appointed with a battery-powered light having a clip appointed to be mounted on a mounting bracket on the rear section or back of the helmet; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,784,795 to Pories et al. discloses a brake and signal light system for use with a motorcycle helmet wherein a flexible housing is mounted to the helmet back and contains a receiver for signaling and at least one light source. These types of illuminated helmets merely provide illumination to the front and/or back areas of the helmet and do not provide omnidirectional illumination to the helmet. As a result, the wearer is basically only visible to vehicle drivers/others who are positioned either directly behind or in front of (via rear view mirror) the driver. As a result, drivers on the sides do not readily see the illumination, and therefore do not readily see the person wearing the helmet thus increasing the likelihood of the driver merging into or otherwise hitting the bicyclist or motorcyclist.
Even where other illuminated helmets provide illumination to more than a simple back area or front of a helmet, they still fail to provide omnidirectional lighting over the substantial area of the helmet. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,680 to Tabanera discloses an electroluminescent bicycle helmet having a foam liner, a plastic shell overlay having a transparent zone and an opaque zone, an electroluminescent lamp film located between the liner and the shell and positioned to emit light from the transparent window, and a battery and inverter, wherein the transparent window is shown as a small triangle window located on the rear and a thin band along the rim of the helmet; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,213 to Baumgartner discloses a helmet having light emitting diodes (LEDs) connected to a multitude of fiber optic cables assembly recessed within an inner shell, wherein an outer shell is provided having a transparent portion corresponding to the pathway involving a narrow line taken by the illuminating assembly so that light can emit past the outer shell at various light intensities. Despite the use of bands around the rim of the helmet, these devices fail to provide omnidirectional lights to substantially the entire outer surface of the helmets. Thin bands of light along the rim fail to provide light emission from the center and top of the helmets. As a result, visibility of the helmet and visa vie the wearer is compromised. Such as when a vehicle driver is in a higher-up vehicle, such as a large sports utility vehicle or a truck, and the individual wearing the helmet is a child or adult lower to the ground. As the driver's vantage point would be the top of the helmet, any light merely on the lower rim of the helmet would not be visible. As a result, the wearer of the aforementioned helmets is basically only visible to vehicle drivers/others who are positioned at a given height in relation to the wearer. Once again, drivers will not readily see the person wearing the helmet thus increasing the likelihood of the driver merging into or otherwise hitting the bicyclist or motorcyclist.
Notwithstanding the efforts of prior art workers to construct illuminated helmets that provide safety during nighttime use, there remains a need in the art for an illuminated helmet that omnidirectionally emits a significant quantum of light for optimal visibility and safety. There is a need in the art for an illuminated helmet that provides emission of light over substantially the entire surface of the helmet, so that the light is emitted in an omnidirectional manner and is visible from virtually every position. Visibility of the individual wearing the helmet would be enhanced if light was emitted, not just from a thin band circumferentially around a helmet, but from a plurality of segments located on the top, sides, back and front of a helmet.